Another Man's Treasure

Acts 4:8-12

Have you ever been fired up about something?  Sports, maybe?? (Certainly not in Central Ohio, right?)  Or perhaps someone cutting you off in traffic or an injustice committed against a friend or loved one?

Often when we’re “fired up” we open our mouths and all sorts of things fly out.  Well in today’s reading, Peter is fired up in a different way.  He’s filled with the Holy Spirit when he talks with the rulers and elders and sets them straight.  He’s not filled with the same righteous anger we might be, but instead speaks truth through the Spirit when he declares, “Hey, remember that guy you had killed?  Well, he’s risen and he’s the reason for this miracle before you.”

He goes on to describe Jesus like a stone that the masons rejected.  He brings to their attention that although they dismissed him, Jesus is the cornerstone or rock on which salvation rests.  Jesus is the only way.

Verse 11 brings this phrase to mind, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”  Jesus’ value was not recognized at the time.  He was condemned and discarded.  His words considered rubbish.  Only a very few realized the true treasure he was and even they didn’t truly recognize his worth until he died and rose again.

Peter wants everyone to be absolutely certain who Jesus is and what He’s done.  He’s filled with the Spirit and fired up for his friend.  When he opens his mouth it’s not foul words, but truth that comes out.  I admire Peter’s example of speaking the truth with such passion.

Father, I want to be fired up and declare your Son as my treasure.  Fill me with the conviction of the Holy Spirit to speak the truth and share the gift of salvation.  Amen

The Cornerstone

JANUARY 5                                                                                                  

Scripture Reading
Read Acts 4:8-12 and reflect on the passage.

Peter’s life changed when he knew salvation through Jesus Christ, the Chief Cornerstone. He knew there was no other path to salvation, no other name to salvation. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he spoke boldly, preached boldly of salvation and how to obtain it!

Man rejected Jesus, “the stone the builders rejected,” but He was exalted by the Father “which has become the Cornerstone.”

Peter is echoing what Jesus said, “Salvation is found in no one else.” We can’t be saved by being good, keeping the law, being sincere, kind, or religious; we can’t buy our salvation.

Scripture tells us “there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” It was just proven –- the lame man had never been able to walk, yet through the power of the name of Jesus, he now stood healed! 

Peter didn’t suggest that Jesus is a way to salvation. He proclaimed that Jesus is the only way to salvation. God designated Jesus to be the Savior of the world, no one else his equal. Our focus should be on Jesus, the Cornerstone, the way to an eternal relationship with God. No other name, no other way!

QuestionsDo you believe that the name of Jesus is the only way to salvation? 

Are you willing to call on His name, in all circumstances?What will it take for you to boldly and confidently proclaim salvation through Jesus’ name to others who may not know?

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, fill me with Your Holy Spirit; embolden me to profess Your saving name now and always. I pray in Your name. Amen.

                                                                                                                                    Becki Bork

To Share and be Content

Acts 4:32, 34 (NIV) All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had…There were no needy persons among them. 

The words in verse 34 are striking. "There were no needy persons among them." This sounds like contentment to the max.

The lesson today is pointing to the fact that everyone had everything they needed to survive and thrive. At first read, I am thinking of money to purchase the necessities, but after prayerful consideration I think it means that there were no needy persons among them, because they took care of any need that may arise. They genuinely loved and nurtured each other. The love the Believers had for one another was complete. They took care of each other. They loved one another as Jesus did.

It is difficult to imagine a society that would sell their possessions for the greater good. It is next to impossible to dream of a civilization that cares for their neighbor’s needs before their own. There was no one in need of the basics of food, clothing, and shelter among them, “they were one in heart and mind.” They nurtured one another, complimenting, walking alongside and generally sharing their lives. They loved each other.

It is when we don't feel loved that we crave affection, and we go after that attention in ways that could be considered 'needy'. We can all learn a lesson from the early church members. Life lived for our neighbor is life lived for Jesus and it can be ultimate contentment.

Weak Made Strong, In Christ Alone

Cornerstone

11 Jesus is

  “‘the stone you builders rejected,
   which has become the cornerstone.’
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12

I am not an architect, so after reading today’s passage I quickly went to google to look up the meaning of cornerstone.  Wikipedia defined cornerstone as,

The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.

How cool is it that? Jesus is called the cornerstone, or the “stone” that will be a reference to all other “stones”, which is us.  Jesus is our reference.  Salvation is found in no one else. We look to him for how to live. We look to him when we need to know how to respond to conflict. He is our reference when striving to put others needs before our own. We don't need to look any further.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of a worship song that I love titled, “Cornerstone”, by Hillsong.  

The chorus says,

“Christ alone, cornerstone.

Weak made strong in the Saviors love.  

Through the storm He is Lord, Lord of all.

Christ alone is Lord of all!  He is the answer to the problems of the world.  Seek him today for your comfort.  I have linked the song, Cornerstone if you want to listen to it.  Just click here or on the picture above to enjoy the music.

Have a blessed day.

Read today's passage here Acts 4:8-12

Together Teams in Tougher Times

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all the chief priests and elders had said to them. (Acts 4:23)

Of course they went back to their own people! Don’t we all seek from each other the strength and support of the like-minded among us? How do management teams recharge and refocus together? They retreat together. What do football players do after five to seven seconds of organized chaos? They huddle up as one. Why do we join small groups? To find and to give unconditional acceptance, love and care. We crave solidarity with people who share singularity of purpose.

So after 24 hours of healing, preaching, incarceration, defense and release, Peter and John needed their own people—big-time!—and their own people needed them. But what if these two leaders began their report, only to be stymied by the group arguing over worship style (choir recital versus rock concert, or something in between)? What if the good folks appreciated John’s loving heart, but were contented only with Peter’s bold oratory? What if Peter and John sought harmony but encountered dissonance instead?

What the apostles needed from their fellow believers was maturity and unity, and fortunately for them, that’s exactly what they found. “When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. ‘Sovereign Lord,’ they said, ‘. . . consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness’” (Acts 4:24, 29).

As in earlier times, the church today is under persecution, and persecution is no time for pettiness. Tougher times call for together teams: we must have internal union if we are to stand amid external rejection. Simply put, each of us needs the oneness of all of us. Today, let each of us resolve to lay aside all that divides us and serve as one body—one people—in Christ.

Father, you desire unity among your people. Purify my heart, that others would find in me the encouragement, support and love they need. Give me the wisdom and compassion to set aside my self-interest for the good of the entire body of Christ. In His name I pray. Amen.

[Read the Scripture for the day in Acts 4:23-31.

If Jesus, then only Jesus

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “... Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:8, 12

Salvation is found in no one else?  Oh, come on, Peter!  You’re so narrow-minded!

You know, the whole “narrow-minded” accusation is just that – academic bullying that intimidates us from examining or embracing the truth of a matter.  And I use “academic” loosely, for how broad is the mind that dismisses without examination the possibility that Peter was right?

If the Bible were just a philosophy by which we made our way in the world around us, then perhaps we could lump it in with every other religion and validate them all as elaborate coping mechanisms, lofty thoughts that make us feel good.  But if its claims are true, it is not the narrow mind, but the sound mind that accepts them.

In Leviticus, God told Moses that “the life of a creature is in the blood,” and therefore “it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s sin.” In other words, it takes the sacrifice of one perfect life to pay the penalty for the sin of another.  And this is exactly what Jesus did for us.  Now, if Jesus were human but not God, his death would save no one but himself.  If, however, he were God but not man, there would be no human atonement for us.  But he was fully both, and his death and resurrection means life – abundant and eternal – for us.  How selfless he is!  If Jesus, then only Jesus.

Through Isaiah, God foretold Jesus’ suffering, sacrificial atonement, death and resurrection.  “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wound we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  If all sin has been laid upon Jesus, then atonement has been made for all.  There is no other name by which we even can be saved, because it’s already been done.  As it is, we are forgiven and need only to accept this gift of grace in faith.  How loving he must be!  If Jesus, then only Jesus.

To his disciples, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  If he were just another man, we should not only dismiss Jesus’ bold exclusivity claim, we should repudiate it as non authoritative, dishonest and even a little crazy.  But if he is God, we can, in faith, rely completely on him.  What comfort we have!  If Jesus, then only Jesus.

We needn’t be intimidated or misled by hollow accusations.  Nor should we hold grudges against those who utter them, for Jesus atoned for the sins of all – theirs and ours.

Instead, take courage!  Jesus is who he says he is.  He has done what he said he would do for a world he loves.  Freedom is ours, a gift.  And that’s a good thing.

Jesus.  Only Jesus.

[Click here for the daily reading in Acts 4:1-14.]

So true!

“Then [the rulers, elders, teachers and high priest] called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, ‘Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.’” Acts 4:18-20

(To read the entire story of the healing of the crippled man, click here.)

When my wife was fifteen, she pondered Christianity for her own life. One day, her thoughts culminated in this question: “If God is real, what does he require of me?” Upon further reflection, she ultimately concluded: “What God requires of me is ... me!”

Truth is a powerful thing: it demands we deal with it and it exacts a response from all who encounter it. Following the healing of the crippled man and Peter’s ensuing sermonette, “many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.” But though the religious leaders of the day saw the same miracle and heard the same message, they remained faithless. All stood face-to-face with truth, and each had no choice but to choose between belief and unbelief.

Truth is immovable: we can align ourselves and flourish under its power and authority, or we can resist it to the point of exhaustion, collapse and inevitable failure. When the rulers asked, “By what power or what name did you do this?,” Peter replied, “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but who God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.... Salvation is found in no one else...” Seeing the courage of Peter and John (and, by the way, the now-formerly crippled man also standing there in front of them!), “there was nothing they could say.” Despite all their learning and sophistry, these religious leaders lost all confidence in their own understandings. Had they been able to articulate any error in the disciples’ message or harmfulness in their deeds, they certainly would have silenced them through rebuttal. Instead, the only “argument” they could muster was, in essence, “Shut up! Just shut! ... up!” Peter, John and the healed man all thrived under the certainty of truth, while the leaders exhausted their credibility – and exposed their fragility – against it.

Truth is a person. His name is Jesus. He stands powerfully and immovably before us all as “the way and the truth and the life.” Each of us will respond to him, some in belief and some in unbelief. And every one of us will either submit ourselves to him, or exhaust ourselves in resistance.

Yes, he who gave himself for us now calls us to give ourselves to him. And what does he promise to all who believe and obey? “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

So true! So true. So true ...